9.23.19
Cabrini Center Senior Attorney Alex Gomez, Managing Attorney Desiree Salinas, Vice President of Immigration Services Zenobia Lai, Managing Attorney Maria Mitchell and Program Coordinator Jenny Hernandez accepted the Ohtli Award with gratitude.
HOUSTON – The Mexican government presented the 2019 Ohtli Award to Catholic Charities’ St. Frances Cabrini Center for Immigrant Legal Assistance during an Independence Celebration at the Mexican Consulate in Houston. The Cabrini Center was recognized for its contribution to advance the well-being of the Mexican communities in Greater Houston.
The Ohtli Award is an honor given once annually. The name of the award comes from the Aztec word which means “road” or “pathway.” About one third of the more than 20,000 individuals served by Cabrini Center trace their ancestry to Mexico.
In announcing the award, the Mexican government thanked the Cabrini Center for reuniting on American soil Mexican families separated by the border; helping migrants from Mexico obtain permanent immigration status and citizenship in the United States; and helping many others obtain relief from deportation.
“We thank the Mexican government for bestowing the prestigious Ohtli Award to Cabrini Center. We are humbled to be recognized,” said Zenobia Lai, Catholic Charities’ Vice President of Immigration Legal Services. “At a time when immigrants are constantly assailed and maligned, and protection for those fleeing persecution continues to be decimated, this recognition serves as a reminder to all of Cabrini Center that our mission is to make the road for others, as those who came before us have paved the way for us.”
The Cabrini Center provides the most diverse array of immigration legal services in Greater Houston. Its experienced corps of attorneys and paralegals provide free and low-cost legal services to children who arrived in the U.S. alone; to families seeking to be reunified with a loved one; to victims of domestic violence; to asylum seekers; and to immigrants seeking to become citizens.
> Learn more about Catholic Charities’ Cabrini Center and how you can support their mission.